Call 816-462-9128

Tag: local online marketing

How To Avoid The Online Reviews Blues

Local Search Engine Optimization in Kansas City, Leawood, and Overland Park

One of the most challenging things we’ve had to deal with at Web Force KC while working with our clients over the years is online reviews. In fact, after many years of trying to communicate how vital getting online reviews are to our clients, we eventually crafted a clever reminder that we tend to tell at least one of them once a week: The only review that you’ll get that you don’t ask for is usually one that you don’t want. What’s odd about online marketing and its effect on consumers’ buying decisions is that the days of 2 neighbors chatting at their fence line asking, “who does your lawn care?” are rare, if not nonexistent. What’s even more interesting is that we now use the internet to find products and/or services we want or need and base our buying decisions on the opinions (i.e.reviews) of people we don’t even know. Of course, word of mouth and referrals still exist, but as a marketing agency, our job is to generate leads and customers solely through a carefully woven web of our client’s online presence and let the companies we promote deliver their goods and services the way they see fit.

That’s why getting solid reviews and maintaining a quality rating is imperative to the success of any business using the web as a tool to generate business. In the case of Web Force KC, we primarily work with small, locally owned, and operated businesses that, more often than not, have big corporate competition that can be tough but not impossible to beat in the SEO arena. With online reviews, we’ve found that larger corporate entities that offer similar services to our clients often struggle to get and maintain good reviews for whatever reason, which is why keeping and growing our client’s online reputation is a big part of what we do. The dilemma is not so easily solved by merely asking customers to write beaming reviews because most will say a resounding “YES” but soon forget or blow it off. This is why we took the initiative to make getting and asking for reviews simple and streamlined using the fact that most everyone has a smartphone in their pocket or purse that can be used to help get our client’s customers onto their review pages and leave feedback that helps win even more business. We’re not going to get into details as to how we are creating seamless avenues to get more reviews or even social media followers, but chances are you’ve seen how and what we do in nearly every business, particularly since COVID-19 hit the US last year. (Hint: it has something to do with a phone’s camera.)

For some industries we work with, it is incredibly challenging to get consistent reviews as many of our clients are in what some would consider taboo industries. We’ve found that many of their customers don’t necessarily want to advertise publicly that they shop there for whatever reason. That’s why when you see that breakthrough moment with a customer that digs what you do or sell, you make it a point to say something along the lines of, “I’m glad we could help. We’d appreciate it if you could write a review for us so that other people know that we’re the real deal.” That sounds a bit canned, but you get the point. You and your staff should ask for reviews from every customer you know is satisfied with what you do or did every day. Of course, you can’t make everyone happy, and it’s safe to assume that most people online know that, which is why the occasional bat-shit crazy review from someone that you could never satisfy isn’t going to hurt a business that has countless 5-star reviews and 1 or 2 bad ones.

We get that you get busy, overwhelmed with the details of running a business, and can easily forget to ask for reviews. Still, the fact is that you likely already have customers that can and will write a stellar recommendation for what you sell or do, but they don’t know how and where to do it. Ask and show them.

Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for Kansas City web design and online marketing.

Web Design Social Media

SEO

Support Contact

August 16, 2021
Lead Aggregators Are the Worst

Photo by Jp Valery on Unsplash

If you’re a business owner and you do B to C (business to consumer), you are likely bombarded on a daily basis on the phone, in your mailbox and in your inbox with companies trying to sell you “leads.” Some claim to provide exclusive leads while others sell shared leads which is even worse but either way do you get what you pay for? In my experience the answer is a big NO. However, I have had first hand experience on the other side of the lead aggregator business as being the one selling the leads which gives me unique insight as to how they work.

Search Engine Optimization and Web Design in Kansas City, MO

Photo by fran hogan on Unsplash

Many years ago before Web Force KC was even a glimmer in my eye I took a job working for a company “Service Magic”. Sounds corny right? You have no idea. At first it was a real hippy trippy, casual office atmosphere and according to some of the mid level managers I talked to, the owners were pretty cool but the company itself was changing rapidly into an ultra corporate entity that sold millions of dollars in “leads” and I would soon learn I didn’t want any part of it. First let’s define what a lead aggregator is. A lead aggregator is usually a company with a massive website with hundreds of pages that showcase the businesses and business owners that have unfortunately opted to partner with them. Home Advisor (formerly Service Magic) is a great example of a lead aggregator in that they tend to show up in search results for pretty much anything and everything you search for as it pertains to home improvement and they almost always rank pretty prominently. The goal of the lead aggregator website is to gobble up as many clicks as it pertains to a specific search as possible from what we would assume are homeowners looking for home improvement services and then sell the “leads” to their paying contractors. Sound OK so far right especially for a small company that is just starting out and needs business? The problem is that these same “leads” are shared with multiple other contractors in your area all at the same time (or at least as fast as your internet connection is). From there, it’s a mad dash to get that “lead” on the phone and schedule an estimate but the problem is that most of these small businesses or contractors are busy working with their hands and can’t always drop what they’re doing to call the lead back immediately. So it’s essentially a race to get the lead but the bad part about it is that all of the contractors or companies that got that “lead” have to pay for it whether they get the “job” or not. Way back when I worked for Service Magic, some of the leads, particularly for services like home remodeling, cost upwards of $80.00 per lead and I can’t imagine prices have gone down since then. Now, that’s how it works from the lead aggregator and contractor side but there’s another side to the business and that’s the consumer side. The consumer doesn’t know any better as any type of marketing done by the lead aggregator typically won’t disclose that they charge contractors for leads but instead focus on how their service is free for homeowners. They boast that they do background checks and make sure the contractors are licensed, insured, etc to make the homeowner feel more comfortable with hiring someone they don’t know. As the homeowner goes to their website and completes their request for some type of service little do they know it is so on. The phone will ring off the hook, their inbox will be flooded, and it gets overwhelming because the contractors that got the lead are going to make the most of it because they are paying for it whether they get the job or not. It tends to scare off homeowners who just want to get some type of home improvement done and not have to talk to countless contractors. The bottom line is that the lead aggregator got paid multiple times for the single lead they sold to multiple people and they could care less who gets the job or if anyone gets it. Here’s the even more crazy part about all of this: some of the leads are so insane that you wouldn’t believe some of the ones I got to hear about but I will leave you with this one. One of the contractors I worked with called me directly one afternoon asking if it was all a joke. I said no, why and he proceeded to tell me that he had just paid for a lead wanting to add a room onto a trailer in a trailer court.

Lead aggregators probably have their place but I’m not sure where that is. As a business owner, you are already competing with your competitors so it makes little sense to pay more to do it in an arena you have little to no control over. Take control of your online presence and have people find you and your business for what you do, where you do it, and why you are different than your competitors. That’s what Web Force KC does for our clients.

Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for effective web design and online marketing in the Kansas City area.

Home Web Design SEO Social Media Support Contact Us

June 12, 2020
What You DO and What You Are DOING

Photo credit Carl Heyerdahl

I’ve built quite a few websites over the years and have written thousands of blogs for my clients. When I first meet them and they decide to hire me, I initially found it difficult to explain what I was doing for them and why I was doing it. With web design it’s pretty cut and dried that they need a place for their potential customers to find them online, get in contact with them and/or get directions to their business but blogging is different. When I first started Web Force I struggled to explain in simple terms what on earth I was doing creating constant content but over time I realized that there is a simple way to do it so here it is.

Web Design and Content Marketing in Kansas City, MO

A website’s pages are quite simply what you DO, WHO you are, and WHERE you do it. Ideally, each page of a website should explain one component of what you do, what you sell, and why you do it better than your competition with the home page being a summary of everything you do or sell. That’s what you DO and your business likely does it all day, everyday which means that in most cases your website pages never really change much unless your business does. What you are DOING works a little bit different. Avenues like social media are a great way to show off what you are DOING like your latest projects, products, sales, or specials however using your website’s blog can make showing what you are DOING even more powerful. Unlike your website’s pages that are direct and to the point about what you do or sell, your blog posts can be used to show the lighter side of what you do, highlight seasonality in your products or services, flex your industry knowledge, discuss changes in your business or whatever you want so long as it’s relevant. As discussed in our previous blog, keeping your blog posts current and relevant will do wonders for you in terms of attracting the attention of the search engines and will keep your readers engaged as well. Personally, I treat every blog I write like I’m adding a page to a website only less structured and certainly less formal but nevertheless informative. The subject matter could be making light of something my clients see all too often that drives them nuts to something way out of left field like providing tips for smokers and vapers during the COVID-19 era. (FYI: I work with a lot of smoke and vape shops.) The point is that you can use your website to showcase what you DO while using your blog to show what you’re DOING and humanize your company so that your potential customers can get a glimpse of who you are and why they should do business with you. It’s tough to do at first but just like anything else, the more you do it the easier it becomes. Web Force KC builds websites that effectively showcase what businesses and do and what they doing. If you have questions about web design or using your blog as a tool, feel free to contact us.

Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for web design and online marketing in Kansas City.

Home Web Design SEO Social Media Support Contact Us

May 21, 2020